Quote of the day—James Howard Kunstler

The Left had better sober up and join an intelligible good faith debate about US immigration policy and the enforcement of existing laws or this will lead to exactly what Brent Tarrant laid out and what Mr. Trump maladroitly hinted at. Instead, of course, we will more likely commence another bootless campaign over guns. Here are some plain facts about that. There are already enough firearms of every sort loose in this land to commence hot civil warfare and they will not be surrendered by their owners. The horses are out of the barn on that one, even if sales of military-style weapons are outlawed. Any effort to confiscate them from people already possessing them will only provoke more overt antagonism between the two poles of American politics — and would probably lead to exactly the sort of violence that sober observers discern on the horizon.

James Howard Kunstler
March 18, 2019
Deadly Serious
[H/T to Chet M.

I don’t think the political left, especially some of the more recent elected representatives, is capable of “an intelligible good faith debate”. Their connection with reality is so tenuous that it will take a very serious application of a figurative “clue-by-four” for them to even see a ghostly outline of want we see as real.

Immigration is an important issue. But I think the gun issue is more likely to initiate their reality check. The widespread refusal of the police to enforce their oppressive laws is a gentle wakeup call. They won’t have to go down the path into Delusion Land much further before the gentle wakeup call becomes an air-raid siren.—Joe]

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4 thoughts on “Quote of the day—James Howard Kunstler

  1. His first mistake is assuming that the elected leaders of the Dem (and many of the R party, too) have any real interest in representing the legal citizens of their respective districts, that they have any interest in fairness, or justice, or general progress for humanity broadly or Americans specifically. They are in it for personal power, and/or they are meat-puppets doing the bidding of those who seek power and wealth and care not at all about you or I. In fact, they revel in our misery and hopelessness, as that demonstrates their power to help or hinder, make or destroy people. They would think themselves gods… and we know where that leads, every time. (see: The Gods of the Copybook Headings, or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx9–zQDfog for a slightly more modern-language version video by Bill Whittle.)

    But, as the end of the poem says, the Gods of the Copybook heading can be seen in the distance, limping up to explain it one more time. What a time to be alive.

  2. Intelligible, good-faith debate is the very thing the left is trying to eliminate from the face of the earth forever.

    Regarding the dire warnings of possible widespread violence (Day by Day Cartoon has the very same message up on this date);
    There are people on the left, and many others. who would welcome chaos and violence. They’re planning on it. I don’t think it’s any kind of real warning then. We’re only talking to ourselves.

    The left is trying its hardest to pick a fight without being seen as the primary instigators. The right is trying its hardest to appear as the opposition to the left while operating in partnership with it. In one sense or another then, they’re both itching for a fight against their common enemy and prey.

    One who’s trying to pick a fight isn’t swayed by, “You’d better stop that; things could get ugly!” He’s encouraged by it. They want the ugly. For one thing, it’s the best way to conquer that enemy among all enemies, that one thing which must be avoided at all cost; the Intelligible, Good-Faith Debate.

  3. It seems Kipling is the man of the day;
    In comments, also at Day By Day Cartoon, today, March 22, ’19;

    It was not part of their blood,
    It came to them very late,
    With long arrears to make good,
    When the Saxon began to hate.

    They were not easily moved,
    They were icy — willing to wait
    Till every count should be proved,
    Ere the Saxon began to hate.

    Their voices were even and low.
    Their eyes were level and straight.
    There was neither sign nor show
    When the Saxon began to hate.

    It was not preached to the crowd.
    It was not taught by the state.
    No man spoke it aloud
    When the Saxon began to hate.

    It was not suddently bred.
    It will not swiftly abate.
    Through the chilled years ahead,
    When Time shall count from the date
    That the Saxon began to hate.

    THE WRATH OF THE AWAKENED SAXON
    by Rudyard Kipling

    So we see in the poem that concept of patient endurance, of long and quiet suffering leading up to action, or “hate”. What is NOT defined is, “Hate of what, for the reason that one loves…what?”

    This is no different from “Hope and Change” and “Fundamental Transformation”; it is left to the hearer to fill in the missing principles. It alludes to a motivation without defining the motivation, and to a goal without defining the goal.
    Hope for what, and change from what to what? Blank out. Fundamental transformation from what, to what? Blank out.

    That intelligible, good-faith debate must address the bedrock principles or it is worthless. Actually “worthless” is putting it in its most innocuous sense, because it ranges from worthless, to deadly on a global scale.

    Many a revolution was fomented by the mechanism described in The Wrath of the Awakened Saxon but nearly all of them have traded one flavor of tyranny for some other, like one gang overthrowing another to take its place.

    That brings up the issue of rivals verses….is there a word for this? A rival wishes to do what his someone else is doing, but to do it himself rather than let the other guy do it. If we are nothing but rivals in the world, all the fighting will lead to nothing but a change of guard in the same system.

    We’re dealing with enemies. They are not rivals. Rivals agree, but want the power. They wish to do their authoritarian thing, AND they wish to never ever again see anyone live free. The authoritarian mind cannot abide seeing one man free, no matter how good or harmless that one man may be. The authoritarian mind hates that free man specifically because he is good and harmless.

    Today’s leftist agitators speak of being “Woke” and suchlike, but one man’s state of being “Woke” is, in another man’s assessment, blatant and utter cluelessness.

    That intelligible, good-faith debate then must include those rock solid principles which defined Western Civilization. Posit; it was the Protestant Reformation which lifted the West out of the Dark Ages, and the principles of the Protestant Reformation are specifically and purposefully under attack around the world today.

    That Saxon may “hate” this or he may “hate” that or he may “hate” a lot of different peoples, nations and tongues, but what does he love? For if he loves nothing in particular, or he loves only his memory of his past life then he’s in peril of reinforcing, through his hate, all of that which he hates.

  4. I’ve become convinced that the endgame being actively pursued by the Progressive Left is Marx’s Glorious Revolution. They’re not interested in working out compromises on ANYTHING, and pushing their implacable enemy to violence works in (they think) their favor. They know in their deepest inner selves that opposition to Progressive Groupthink is evil, and evil cannot be negotiated with, only destroyed.

    I do not look forward to the next 10-20 years.

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